12th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.The sequence of units reflects an effort to apply a coherent sequence of increasingly sophisticated skills. Most discussion questions and tasks include analysis of language, key ideas, details and craft and structure. The sequenced questions allow for making meaning and building understanding of texts. Within the Tiered Discussion Prompts, there are questions labeled “evaluate” or “analyze.” These questions often refer to the “big question”, a broad, general focusing question offered at the beginning of text sets. Questions and tasks cover a wide continuum of standards and strategies. Examples include but are not limited to:

Examples of questions and tasks in Unit 1 after reading the text, “Beowulf” include:

• “Notice the use of alliteration with the repetition of letters p and d. What mood or feeling does the alliteration convey?”

• “What does the passage describe?
• “What words and phrases does the poet use to establish Grendel as a fearsome creature?
• “ How effective is the poet in conveying Grendel’s assault on the Danes? Explain.”

• “Reread lines 768-778. What theme do the lines suggest?”

• ”What does Wiglaf’s speech in lines 851-862 tell you about the importance of honor and the consequences of dishonorable behaviour in Beowulf’s time?”
• Beowulf is able to defeat Grendel and Grendel’s mother, yet he loses his life when he battles the dragon. What themes does this suggest about the struggle between good and evil?

Examples of questions and tasks in Unit 3 after reading the text, “The Diary of Samuel Pepys” include:

• “Reread lines 5-13. What details tell you that Pepys was an eyewitness in Charles II’s return to England?”
• “Which details indicate that this ceremony was meant to impress- and that it indeed did so?”
• “Which event from Pepy’s diary entry for April 23, 1661, does this scene capture?” (583)
• “What details hint that Pepys is a little nervous about the dinner party that he has planned:”

Examples of questions and tasks in Unit 4 after reading the text, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” include:

• “Explain why the spell begins to break at this point. What does this event suggest about the relationship between humans, nature and the supernatural.”

• “In a narrative, the climax is the moment of greatest interest and intensity. What shocking discovery does the Mariner make in lines 331-344?”
• “ Reread lines 377-392. What supernatural element does Coleridge introduce to enhance the nature of his tale?”
• Identify several examples of archaic language in lines 564-573. What effect do these antiquated expressions help to create?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

Anchor texts are accompanied by linked activities and questions before, during, after reading, which are text-dependent and text-specific. The threads of questions connected to anchor texts are coherently sequenced due to a repeated three-part structure: Test Analysis and Reading Skill tasks, which students are directed to complete in their Reader/Writer Notebooks, introduce skills and topics such as reading folk literature, analyzing structure, rhetorical devices, diction, satire, imagery, figurative language. There are some opportunities for students to build knowledge between multiple texts. Questions placed alongside the text and after the text prompt students to identify and comment on the effect or meaning of focus text features. However, the level of questions does not increase significantly over the course of the year, and tasks are scaffolded and passages labeled consistently across the year. Students do not become prepared to execute these skills on their own.

In Unit 3 students respond to a Task Across Texts: Compare Texts: “Recall that on page 609, you learned the difference between Horatian and Juvenalian satire. Compare the tone of “The Rape of the Lock” with the tone of “A Modest Proposal”/ Why is Pope’s poem considered Horatian and Swift’s essay considered Juvenalian? Support your answer with examples from the text.” Questions during the unit include:

• “What is Swift calculating? What exceptions does he list as he adjusts his final number?”
• “Why does Swift use this mathematical language to discuss the issue?”
• “How effective is Swift’s satire in presenting his social critique about the state of the poor in Ireland? Explain.”.

• “How do we fight injustice?” In lines 123-131 what does the speaker’s story about the island of Formosa make about the existence of injustice in the world?” (627)
• What is Swift’s proposal for easing poverty in Ireland?
• How will the proposal benefit Irish Parents?
• What verbal irony does Swift use in each of the following parts of “A Modest Proposal” (text citations are provided) (632)
• Review the chart you created as you read. Regardless of your emotional response to the essay, do you consider the proposal to be well supported? Explain why or why not.

Questions placed alongside the text and after the text prompt students to identify and comment on the effect or meaning of focus text features. Lines are called out with each question. Students do not become prepared to execute these skills on their own.

In Unit 5 students read the text, “Christmas Storms and Sunshine” by Elizabeth Cleghorn. Students are directed, “As you read, use a chart like the one shown to record the elements Gaskill uses to create mood in her short story and note any changes in the mood.” The chart shows three columns with three rows. Columns read literary element, examples, and mood created. The rows underneath ‘literary element’ read; imagery/descriptive details, word choice and setting. The changes in mood are noted throughout the text with specific, guiding questions to identify the changes in mood. Examples include:

• “Reread lines 40-45. In setting up these two opposing families, what mood does Gaskell create? Cite Details that help the author establish this mood.
• How would you describe the mood at this point in the story? Reread lines 150-176, identifying the descriptive details and word choices that allow Gaskell to build the mood to a crescendo.

• Tiered Discussion Prompts: In lines 212-234, use these prompts to help students understand the interaction between Mary and Mrs. Jenkins. Connect: “Think about the exchange between the two women, in which one adversary asks for help from another. Would you have responded as each woman did? Why or why not?”. Analyze: “In what way is Mrs. Jenkin’s interaction with Mary concerning the kettle parallel to Mary’s earlier encounter with Mrs. Jenkins regarding the cat?” Evaluate: “Is the interaction between Mary and Mrs.Jenkin’s believable? Why or why not?”

• Review the chart you filled in as you read. What shifts in mood occur as the story progresses? Citing specific examples, describe the literary elements Gaskell employs to create a distinct mood.”
• Critical Interpretations: “Critics have praised Caskell’s “refusal to give easy answers to social and spiritual dilemmas” “Do you think this comment applies to the problems Caskell explores in this story? Cite evidence to support your opinion.”

The level of questions does not increase significantly over the course of the year, and tasks are scaffolded and passages labeled consistently across the year. Students are frequently directed where to look for evidence when analyzing a text.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Culminating task include the Wrap-Up activity after major text sets within each unit, the multi-step project at the end of each unit, and the end-of-year research project that makes up Unit 7. Activities that are related to culminated activities are sprinkled through the units, without explicit connections to the upcoming culminating task and the skills and knowledge students will be expected to demonstrate. Culminating tasks, and the activities leading to them, integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The questions and tasks partially support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. The majority of the culminating tasks do not support students’ ability to demonstrate knowledge of a topic, but rather students are demonstrating skills gained.

In Unit 1: The Origins of a Nation: The Anglo -Saxon and Medieval Periods, after reading autobiographies such as Margery Kempe’s, and letters such as Margaret Paston’s, a reader can learn more intimately about what life was like during the writer’s time; in this case, the Middle Ages.

• Task: Write a comparison of two of the major figures in the nonfiction selections in the ‘Reflections of Common Life’ section, using a chart like the one below (included on page 139) to help you organize your thoughts. What major similarities or differences do you notice about the two figures based on these categories? What generalization can you make about what their lives might have been like in the middle ages based on the similarities or differences? Include evidence from the two texts to support your analysis. Organize your essay by category to build toward your generalization.” (139)
• The Unit 1 cumulative writing is an analysis of a poem with grammar in context. “In this workshop you will examine a poem of your choice and will present your findings in an analysis. Prompt, “Write an essay in which you analyze a poem. Help your audience understand the poet’s use of stylistic elements.”

These task show an understanding of skill but not have students demonstrate their knowledge of a topic.

Unit 6: New Ideas, New Voices: Modern and Contemporary Literature (1901-Present)

• The cumulative activity for Unit 6 is personal narrative; “in this unit writers transform their personal experiences and observations about life into short stories, plays, and poems. Other writers choose the genre of a personal narrative to record their experiences – for themselves, for publication, or for a college application. In this workshop you will write a personal narrative focusing on a pivotal experience or event in your life.” (1380)

Reviewers noted that more support may be needed leading up to the writing task to complete a personal narrative.. Examples that may be linked to narrative writing throughout the unit include but are not limited to:

• Quickwrite: “...some situations can cause a disconcerting sense that you’re invisible. WIth a partner, list four or five such situations. Try to identify aspects of contemporary life that might contribute to this feeling. Then, on your own, choose one of the situations you listed and describe it in a paragraph or two. What emotions might this kind of situation trigger” (1175)
• Quickwrite: “Recall a time or incident when you had to “save face.” Try to remember why you reacted to the situation as you did. Write a short description of what happened, how you “saved face,” and what you might do differently today in a similar situation”.(1251)
• Review the selections by Soyinka, Gordimer, and Desai. Choose one piece and write an essay in which you reflect on the various responses it might have provoked when it was first published. Use 2 details from the text and explain how they might affect sympathetic or unsympathetic readers. Finally, conclude by explaining your own view of the piece, both as a work of literature and as a work of social commentary. (1375)

The Unit 6, cumulative activity is personal narrative page 1380 through 1389; “in this unit writers transform their personal experiences and observations about life into short stories, plays, and poems. Other writers choose the genre of a personal narrative to record their experiences – for themselves, for publication, or for a college application. In this workshop you will write a personal narrative focusing on a pivotal experience or event in your life.”

• There is little support throughout the 282 pages leading up to the writing task unit to complete a personal narrative and/or to practice many of the skills listed--especially if you follow the ECOS units.
• Examples that may be linked to narrative writing throughout the unit:
  • Page 1175: Quickwrite: “...some situations can cause a disconcerting sense that you’re invisible. WIth a partner, list four or five such situations. Try to identify aspects of contemporary life that might contribute to this feeling. Then, on your own, choose one of the situations you listed and describe it in a paragraph or two. What emotions might this kind of situation trigger” As a “quickwrite” there is no help on style, formatting, and this example is optional.
  • Page 1189: Extension: “Suggest that students review “Musee des beaux Arts” to study the ways in which Auden conveys theme through his narrative. Then have them independently identify their own themes and story ideas based on CHildren’s Games. They may use a Sequence Chain to outline the major events in their stories”. Again, there is not firm context for feedback/formatting that would lead to growth. This is an extension activity.
• Page 1249: Reading-Writing Connection: “Compose a Euology. Suppose that a military pilot has been recently shot down and killed during battle. IN the spirit of Yeat’s “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,” write a two-paragraph Eulogy for him. Invent a history for the pilot and include details that convey his personality and outlook on life. Revising tips: Maintain a consistent and appropriate tone. Use repetition and parallel structure to enhance the emotional effect of your words.” This does hint at narrative style and gives revising tips for growth.These prompts are optional.
  • Page 1375: “What do children OWE their parents? According to INdian tradition, what obligations do children have toward their parents? In your own family, what obligations do you feel you owe to your parents?
  • page 1375, “review the selections by Soyinka, Gordimer, and Desai. Choose one piece and write an essay in which you reflect on the various responses it might have provoked when it was first published. Use 2 details from the text and explain how they might affect sympathetic or unsympathetic readers. Finally, conclude by explaining your own view of the peace, both as a work of literature and as a work of social commentary. This is analysis of someone else’s writing rather than practice writing a personal narrative.

Also, in Unit 6, one of the culminating tasks in this unit is a speaking and listening workshop--participating in a job interview. This interview activity is not an aligned speaking and listening task. It does seem interesting and students may find it relatable. But it is not evidence-based discussion but it does offer unique protocol and covers non-verbal interactions such as appearance; on page 1391, “make sure that you are neatly dressed and well groomed for your interview. First impressions are very important. Voice: even if you feel nervous or excited, stay calm. Sit with your hands in your lap. Breathe normally. Maintain eye contact with your interviewer and smile politely. Nod to show your understanding. If you don't know how to answer, calmly ask the interviewer to rephrase the question. Use active listening skills. An interview is an opportunity to show that you are a good listener. Your interviewer will ask you specific questions. Pay attention to his or her questions, and never interrupt the interviewer. Use your listening skills to know what keywords and phrases and to identify the point of the question. If necessary, ask the interviewer for clarification”.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Materials attempt a year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Each text is provided with the following vocabulary components located in the Teacher’s Edition:

• Vocabulary Skill: “Vocabulary in Context” and “Vocabulary to Preteach” based on the text.
• Own the Word: As students read, opportunities are provided for the teacher to stop to teach vocabulary words in context.
• Differentiated Vocabulary Support: Vocabulary support is sporadic throughout each unit.

• For English Language Learners: Language Coach: These are tips found in the teacher’s edition that assist in teaching specific vocabulary strategies for words such as roots, affixes, etymology, multiple meanings, word origins, etc… These are designed to use with English Language Learners but can be helpful to all students.
• For Struggling Readers - Additional words from the text are identified as ones that students may need more support.
• For Advanced Learners - Challenge vocabulary suggestions.

• After Reading Vocabulary Assessment: This is found at the end of each text and includes true/false, multiple choice, short answer, and/or fill in the blank questions for students based on the words taught throughout the story.

Reviewers noted that the vocabulary strategies and tasks are often repeated and lack variety in how students engage with vocabulary. Materials lack consistent protocols for presentation as well as opportunities for students to review and reuse previously learned vocabulary. These factors may limit students’ abilities to build words across texts.

Unit 3:

Text: “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift

• Vocabulary Skill: “Have all students complete Vocabulary in Context, Check their words and phrases against the following.” (words and definitions provided). (621) There are no words that are to be pre-taught in the selection.
• Vocabulary: Own the Word: Sustenance: “ Ask students to define sustain, “to keep in existence.” Then tell them that sustenance is food needed to sustain their bodies. Its connotation is not one of indulgence or of lavish meals, just the daily requirement to stay alive.” (622)
• Vocabulary Assessment:

Vocabulary Practice: “Indicate whether the words in each pair are synonyms or antonyms” (633)

• “propagation/reduction”
• “famine/feast”
• “encumbrance/advantage”

“Academic Vocabulary in Writing”

• Words listed: “affect”; “challenge”; “consent”; “final”; “respond”
• Prompt: “How might a food shortage affect our society today? How would we respond to such a disaster, and what kinds of cracks or divisions might it reveal in society? In your response, use at least two additional Academic Vocabulary words.” (633)

Unit 6:

Text: “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence

• Vocabulary Skill: “Have all students complete Vocabulary in Context, Check their words and phrases against the following.” (words and definitions provided). (1153) Preteach Vocabulary with the following copy master. Read each item aloud. (Copy provided in Resource Manager). (1153)
• Vocabulary: Own the Word: Reiterate: “Remind students that the prefix re- means “again”. To iterate means “to say or perform.” (1163)
• Vocabulary Assessment:

Vocabulary Practice: “Indicate whether the words in each pair are synonyms or antonyms” (633)

• “materialize/vanish
• career/slacken
• steed/stallion
• reiterate/echo
• uncanny/ordinary”

• Academic Vocabulary Analogies: “An analogy compares two things to clarify the less familiar one. Vocabulary analogies compare word pairs. For example, “Iridescent is to dull as uncanny is to familiar.” Even if you can’t remember what iridescent means, you may remember that uncanny means “strange.” Therefore, the second pair of words are opposites, or antonyms. That means the first pair are also opposites, and iridescent is an antonym of dull.” (1170)

Additional resources such as copy masters, can be found in the Resource Manager. Think Central is an online tool that provides additional vocabulary resources for students to practice and review vocabulary. Directives are provided in the Teacher’s Edition.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

The materials provide occasional opportunities for research, but research is mostly not connected to writing until the final chapter. In Units 1-6, activities requiring research are attached to discussion and class presentation, but rarely to writing.

These research activities are typically connected to topics addressed in neighboring texts (such as satire, colonialism), but are not arranged to support a progression to work of increasing complexity or sophistication. Other short writing activities in Units 1-6 involve incorporation of secondary critical texts that are excerpted in the book. Consequently, prior to Unit 7, students are not asked to find, assess, or interpret outside sources for the purpose of incorporating into their own written arguments. Unit 7, “The Power of Research,” at the end of the book, provides instruction on evaluating sources in the context of a sustained, long-term research project. However, no activities in the preceding chapters have supported development of skills needed to incorporate research materials into their writing. The highest-level material on evaluating and interpreting sources is found in the appendix (called the Student Resource Bank), signaling that it is supplemental rather than integral to instruction on conducting and using research.

Examples of activities that require independent research related to primary texts, but not writing include, but are not limited to:

Unit 3: The Restoration and the 18th Century

• Research: Find two examples of modern-day satire, one in the light Horatian style of Pope and one in the darker Juvenalian style of Swift. Share your examples with the class and discuss how they compare with the work of 18th century satirists” (575)

Unit 4: The Flowering of Romanticism

• Research and Discuss: As a class, consider recent issues involving the environment. You might bring in newspaper or magazine articles and summarize them for classmates. Then consider the degree to which love of nature motivates environmentalists. What are some of the other motivations they may have for their efforts?” (767)

Unit 6: Modern and Contemporary Literature

• Extension Online. Inquiry and Research. Use the Internet to research the political and cultural conditions surrounding the Irish Literary Renaissance. What values were being expressed? How did the movement spread? How was this literature received by the public? Write a brief report to explain your findings.” (1239)

Unit 7: The Power of Research: This unit consists of two interactive workshops that guide students through the research and writing process.

The Research Strategies Workshop (1404-1419) offers strategies for organizing, selecting, and evaluating information to answer both academic and real-world questions. Students practice accessing and navigating Web-based, electronic, audio-visual, and print resources. A wide range of activities allows students to practice their research skills in specific situations. Research skills aligned to the standards include: (1400)

• Select and shape a topic
• Plan research
• Identify relevant and credible sources
• Choose the best research tools, including primary and secondary sources and online resources
• Evaluate information and sources, including nonfiction books, newspapers, periodicals, and Web-sites
• Make source lists and take notes
• Synthesize multiple sources
• Avoid plagiarism by quoting directly and crediting sources
• Verify information, detect bias, and develop a personal perspective

The Writing Strategies Workshop (1420-1441) provides a systematic approach for students to apply the strategies they have learned. Students will plan and write a research paper, adapting the strategies to their own projects and achieving mastery of research skills through practice and reflection. Writing skills aligned to the standards include: (1400)

• Conduct sustained research projects
• Apply research skills
• Document sources
• Prepare Works Cited list
• Format your paper
• Use punctuation with parenthetical citations
• Use correct style for direct quotations